


Red Bow, Violet Queen

by levigu



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, we need more of this pairing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 03:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14685639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levigu/pseuds/levigu
Summary: Sayori notices something strange about Yuri's behaviour, but she's not expecting what comes next. Can be read as a oneshot, probably going to update with more though.





	Red Bow, Violet Queen

**Author's Note:**

> Yuri/Sayori OTP! There's not nearly enough of this pairing going around.

Sayori had made herself the tentative vow to try to be on time for things from now on, which wasn't easy when she completely lacked the drive to do anything. How could you be motivated, when you tried to think about what you could possibly have to look forward to, and it was all just blank?

Still, other people would like it if she was more punctual, and Sayori told herself time and time again that other people's needs came before her own. She had no right to mope, to make herself out to be above others, when the only use she had in the first place was in what good she could be for those around her.

So on Friday afternoon, Sayori gently pushed open the door to the clubroom that she had come to know so well over the past few weeks. She actually was early for once, earlier than everyone else except Yuri, who sat at a desk at the front of the room, reading a book with a golden glyph of an eye etched on the plain black hardback cover.

'She looks so serene and peaceful...' Sayori thought as she surveyed the scene in front of her, although a moment later, she found herself asking where that thought came from.

Clearly she'd been hovering in the doorway too long, for Yuri looked up from her book, which she set down carefully on the desk. "Hey, Sayori," she said softly. "I didn't see you for a moment there."

Being addressed directly made Sayori jump. She had got lost in her own thoughts, and... had she been staring? That was so embarrassing! Feeling her cheeks heat up, she muttered a greeting of her own in response. "Ah... hi, Yuri... I was just..."

"It's okay." The violet haired girl saved her the trouble of having to complete that thought. "I zone out sometimes as well. It just happens."

"I guess...?" Sayori felt awkward on this line of conversation and grasped at something else that she could talk about as she stepped into the classroom. "Um, what are you reading?"

"Oh, this?" Yuri's purple eyes gleamed with excitement and she held up the book. "This is called the Portrait of Markov. It's a fairly niche horror story - you don't like horror, do you?" 

"Ah, I don't - I don't mind horror, that is, sometimes... what's it about?" Yuri's tone had been gentle, completely free of obligation, but Sayori still wanted to encourage her to talk about her passion. Yuri didn't often get very animated - something that Sayori sympathized with intensely - so she wanted to give her friend the chance to speak about something that made her happy.

"It's really interesting!" Yuri began speaking quickly, animatedly, any hesitation gone from her voice. "It's about this girl in high school who gets targeted by this cult, only it turns out they escaped from a human experiment lab... and she keeps being put in situations where she has to decide who to trust, only it turns out that a lot of the time - well, that's giving a lot away, isn't it?"

"I-I'd love to hear more about it!" Sayori didn't feel like the premise of the novel quite sat well with her, but Yuri changed when she spoke about the stories she loved so much. Sayori felt a pang of regret that Yuri wouldn't let that side of herself show more often, so confident and enthusiastic that it was.

"Really?" It was almost like Yuri's airy tone was probing for the truth. Sayori was confident that she was about to be called out, that Yuri would proclaim her to be feigning an interest, but no. Instead, "I'll lend you a copy, if you'd like."

"A copy?" Something about that phrasing seemed off.

"Mhm! See?" Yuri picked up her bag and extracted a second, identical copy of her book, complete with that creepy eye on the cover. She offered it out to Sayori with a smile, like it was completely normal to have two copies of the same book.

Sayori took the proffered volume, not even thinking to question why she'd have a duplicate. That was such a Yuri thing to do. "Thank you!" she stammered out. Even if horror wasn't really her thing, Yuri wanted to share something with her that meant a lot to the older girl, and that made Sayori's heart flutter.

"My pleasure." Yuri gave a demure smile that nevertheless spoke volumes about her gratitude. "But..." For the first time in their conversation, Yuri's voice wavered. "Honestly, I should be thanking you. Most people wouldn't even hear me out if I tried to discuss my books with them."

Yuri spoke very matter-of-factly, but Sayori saw how, for a split second, her calm, collected façade broke. Behind Yuri's pleasant mask was a girl who had been shunned one time too many, who took being ignored as just a fact of life. What really shook Sayori to the core was how clearly she could see images of her own life reflected in those bold violets, images of sadness and of drifting away-

And then Yuri's composure reasserted itself, that intriguing smile on her face that sought to bring a reassuring message: all is well! But Sayori had seen too much. She walked over and laid a hand on Yuri's shoulder, celestial blue eyes shimmering with tears that she dared not let fall, that represented the ghosts of the words she could not say.

"Yuri..." she began, her voice hitching. Yuri looked terrified at that moment, like she'd been caught red-handed in some horrible crime, and Sayori hesitated to say any more. "Yuri, I'm so sorry, I... I didn't..."

"Sayori, please. I'm fine." Yuri tried to keep her tone light, but Sayori could tell that there was just a little too much force behind her words. Yuri glanced up to Sayori and then back down again, her violet eyes meeting the single golden one etched on the cover of her book. "Do you mind if I just... get back to..." she nodded at the book on her desk.

Faltering, Sayori felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her. She desperately didn't want to make Yuri mad, but she couldn't leave well enough alone, not after she'd seen Yuri's mask slip. "You can talk to me if you ever need to. That's what I'm here for."

Yuri's hands clenched tightly on her book. "I don't need to talk to anyone." Her speech was forced, deliberate, and conveyed clearly the message that she wanted to be left alone, although she couldn't actually bring herself to tell the brunette to go away. Yuri just wished she could have the company without the intrusive questioning, which she was desperately unused to.

"Everyone does, sometimes!" Sayori put in, albeit a little hesitantly. She couldn't explain why she was being so forward, except that Yuri clearly wasn't okay, and anyone who wasn't okay needed the help a lot more than she did. "It's okay if you want to talk about any problems or-"

"I. Don't. Need. Help!" Yuri punctuated her sentence by slamming the book down on her desk and jumping to her feet. Sayori jumped in shock, but she held her ground. She trusted that Yuri wouldn't actually strike out at her. "Look, you don't get it. You don't - you can't -" For once, the normally elegant and verbose Yuri seemed lost for words. "I'm dealing with it, okay?"

"Yuri." For once, Sayori wouldn't back down. If this was about herself, then fair enough, she'd let it go in a heartbeat, but Yuri deserved better. She was so kind and pretty and- what was she thinking? Focus, she told herself. "Please... let me at least be your friend. Yuri?"

Sayori's unstated question came because Yuri had her hands balled into fists, she was trembling and she had started to sniffle. She was shaking her head frantically, to demand that certain thoughts leave her mind at once. Sayori felt the fear response rising in her throat again, but she wouldn't retreat, not when Yuri was so clearly in a bad place. She took a couple of cautious steps towards her friend, embracing the taller girl tightly.

Yuri's reaction was instantaneous. She clung to Sayori like her life depended on it, the tears flowing freely, coming in waves that wracked her body with noisy sobs. Sayori clutched her just as tightly in return, her hands tracing soft, slow, soothing circles on Yuri's back.

"I'm not going to... to bother you with my shit!" Yuri managed through her tears. "Look at me, this is embarrassing, Sayori, I'm sorry I'm getting like this, I just don't know-"

"Yuri, please..." Sayori's whisper was tinged with a pleading, desperate note. "Yuri, it's going to be alright. I... I'm here, okay?" Yuri responded with a nod, screwing her eyes up tight as the tears slowly abated, although she was still shaking. "Just breathe, okay?" Sayori continued. "That's it... nice, deep breaths..."

Yuri's breathing slowly eased as she focused on regaining her composure. Sayori brought her arms back from around Yuri, and the other girl mirrored the gesture, albeit seeming reluctant to let go. Yuri stood with her gaze cast down at the floor, her eyes red, tears streaked down her face - and yet, Sayori felt, she looked no less pretty.

"Sayori, I'm-"

"Please don't apologise, or I'll feel really bad - ah, here." Sayori handed Yuri a tissue, which she gladly accepted, wiping furiously at her face.

"How about... thank you?" Yuri offered, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"You're welcome." Sayori fidgeted with her fingers, a hint of nerves setting in at the slightest recognition of her actions. She tried to redirect the conversation towards Yuri. "But I really do mean it. If you ever need to talk, I'm here."

Yuri pursed her lips for a moment, her expression nigh unreadable. Sayori tensed herself for another outburst, but then Yuri's muscles slackened and she just nodded. "Thanks, Sayori. Can I ask you something, though?"

"Anything!"

"Please don't push me like that again." Yuri's tone was firm, even if she still seemed a little shaken. "I feel like I really embarrassed myself, and I'm not ready for that."

"You didn't!" Sayori protested, if a little weakly. How could she counsel Yuri on the same things that she fought in her mind all the time? "I wouldn't have the strength to admit, ah..." she trailed off awkwardly.

"Admit what?" Now it was Yuri's turn to show concern.

"Ah, if I was going through something serious..." Sayori tried to brush it off.

"Sayori." Yuri's tone was probing. "You can't force me to be so vulnerable and then-" She stopped to take a breath. "No, I'm sorry." Her light, enticing cadence was back. "If I'm asking you to be gentle with me, then I have to do the same with you." 

Sayori breathed a sigh of relief. Yuri was different to her. Yuri was smart, she was attractive, she deserved to have people pay attention to her. She didn't deserve to have her time taken up by having to hear Sayori whine.

The two girls stood in silence for a moment, both of them reflecting on what had just happened. It was Yuri who broke the spell, reaching out and taking Sayori's hand in her own. Startled, Sayori jumped but didn't pull back. Yuri's touch was cool and delicate and strangely calming, and she found herself relaxing, letting their fingers interlock together. Sayori felt at ease all of a sudden, despite her worry that she was only in the eye of the storm.

"Sayori?"

"Y-yes?" The brunette felt herself snapped out of her trancelike state.

"You know, the others are going to be here soon."

"Wh-" Sayori snatched her hand back like it had been burned. "Oh... wouldn't want to give them the wrong impression..."

"And what impression would that be?" Yuri smiled coyly.

"I..." Sayori began, but couldn't finish, her cheeks flushing.

Yuri chuckled and ruffled Sayori's light brown hair, which only made her blush more. Through her blush, though, Sayori found herself admiring this more confident side Yuri was showing. "I don't think I've ever been able to have this sort of conversation with anyone before," Yuri murmured. She leaned in close to Sayori, close enough that the shorter girl could count every eyelash surrounding those violet lights. "And I think I'd like to continue, when we know we have a little more time. I know a little cafe we could go to, if you like?"

Sayori's eyes went wide, her heart racing in her chest. Was Yuri really asking...? It was all she could to to nod. She couldn't think about anything else. "Y-yes... I'd like that," she answered softly.

"Perfect. I'll see you Saturday afternoon." It was a command that Sayori knew she would obey. Yuri smiled, a genuine, full smile, and Sayori was intensely aware of how close their faces were and the fact that Yuri was drawing closer-

"Oh, hey, you two!" The classroom door flew open, and Monika stepped through it, carrying a heavy box. Yuri jumped back as though stung, but if Monika noticed it, she didn't say anything. "Natsuki's not here yet?" she asked to the room at large, but got no response other than shrugs and what both other girls hoped to be their blankest expressions. "Well, we can give her a few minutes. I heard she's bringing us something!"

Sure enough, Natsuki came through the door soon afterwards, a box of fresh baked cupcakes in hand. Sayori found herself stealing glances at Yuri, who was taking small, delicate bites out of her cupcake, and as much as she tried to look away, she couldn't keep her gaze off the violet beauty. The only thing that caused her to look away was when Yuri glanced over herself. Their eyes met, and Sayori wrenched her own eyes away. She couldn't stare! She couldn't attract attention!

Sayori loved the literature club, but the meeting couldn't end fast enough. Saturday couldn't come fast enough, and yet Sayori found herself silently hoping it never would. She wasn't sure if she was ready.

In a blur, they'd reached the end, and Monika was concluding the meeting. Sayori wanted to hang back and wait for Yuri, but at the same time she wanted to rush home and try and pretend that this day never happened. She threw all her things together in her bag and was almost out of the door, when she was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned around and there was Yuri, rich purple eyes as deep as ever, wearing that same mysterious smile on her face.

"Tomorrow, hm? I'll call you." Sayori only nodded, biting her lip and simultaneously chewing herself out for being so awkward. "Perfect. I look forward to it." Yuri leaned in and gave Sayori a chaste kiss on the cheek, before walking around her, out of the door, and heading down the hallway.

Sayori stood transfixed as she watched Yuri's elegant form glide effortlessly down that hallway, raising a hand to touch her cheek, which she noticed was burning up. Maybe tomorrow would go alright after all.


End file.
